Computing machine



Nov. 19, 19 o. J. SUNDSTRAND COMPUT ING MACHINE Filed Nov. 28,

Sheets-Sheet l NOV. 19, 1935. Q. SUNDSTRAND 7 2,021,618

COMPUTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 28, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 OW/c/l/MY/MM Patented Nov. 19, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE comu'rmc mom tion oi Delaware Application November 28, 1932, Serial No. 644,627

Claims. (01. 235-60) In one of its aspects, the present invention consists of means under the control of or actuated by the paper carriage for throwing out of use one or more of the denominational orders of a 5 printing andcomputing mechanism.

In another aspect, the invention consists of means controlled or actuated by the paper carriage for adjusting the stop-setting mechanism.

The invention also comprises means for preventing the printing of useless ciphers when whole" numbers are being printed.

The invention is herein shown as embodied in a machine for computing and printing according to the English currency system, one denomi- 5 national order being devoted to pence, two to shillings and the remainder to pounds. Means has been provided whereby the paper carriage is made capable of so adjusting the stop-setting mechanism that the pence and shillings mechanisms are left idle, thus adapting the machine to the printing and/or registration of whole numbers, as, for example, a number to indicate the folio of a ledger account, and rendering possible automatic printingof the folio in the proper column on a. ledger sheet under the control of the paper carriage.

In the accompanying drawings:

I Figure 1 is a fragmental plan view ofone form of machine embodying the features of my invention.

' Fig. 2 is a fragmental left-hand side elevation.

Fig. 3 is a fragmental perspective view, looking from the left-hand side of the machine.

. Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken approximatel in the plane of line 44 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 is a fragmental plan view.

Fig. 6 is a plan view showing a dog located on the carriage, and the lever actuated by the dog.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one form of means to prevent the printing of unnecessary ciphers.

The invention is herein shown as embodied in a machine of the type shown in my Patent No. 1,885,489, granted November 1, 1932, upon improvements in Decimal and non-decimal adding and subtracting machines, but it should be understood that the invention is not limited to machines of that particular character. Reference may be made to said patent (or an understanding of features not fully illustrated and described herein.

The machine illustrated in the drawings is adaptedto register and print up to 9,999,999 195., 11d. A single type bar is employed to print the number of pence and one type bar for each numerical order of shillings and pounds, hence ten type bars are herein provided. The type bars that print the number of pounds and shillings are marked 3; (Fig. 1), the type bar that prints the number of pence being designated 3'. 5 Said bars are arranged compactly side by side.

The means herein shown for limiting the extent to which the type bars may rise and thus to determine which numerals shall be brought to printing position includes a stationary group of 10 stops 42, which may be similar to those fully disclosed in the Sundstrand Patents Nos. 1,198,- 487 and 1,583,102. When moved rearwardly from the position shown in Fig. 1, the stops are in the path of movement of devices carried by 15 the type bars and thereby limit the upward movement of said type bars. These devices consist of I arms 45 pivoted to the lower portions of the type bars, and stop pins 46 connected to the forward ends of the arms 45. The pins 46 are guided for 20 vertical movement in a slide 41 (Figs. 2 and 5) which is mounted on a stationary guide rod 48 extending transversely of the machine. The guide rod 48 is so positioned with reference to the group of stops 42 that the slide 41 is movable 25 to carry the pins 46 from their normal or initial position at the left-hand side of the group of stops 42 into vertical alinement with the columns of stops.

The means for projecting the stops 42 into the 30 path of the pins 46 comprises numeral keys 49 (Fig. 1) and a series of push pins 50 (Fig. 4) arranged to be projected rearwardly by the keys.

The rear ends of the push pins are supported by means including a bracket 5| (Fig. 5) which is 35 pivoted in the machine frame at 52, and is caused to swing toward the right by means of a contractile spring 53. The rear end of the bracket 5| is connected to the slide 41 by means of a stud 54 engaging a. fork 55 on said slide. Overlying 40 the bracket 5| is an arm 56 (Figs. 1 and 4) which also is pivoted at 52. Fixed to the rear end of the arm 56 is a post 51 in which the rear portions of the push pins 50 are slidably guided. The arm 56 carries a bracket 58 that slidably supports the rear end of the bracket 5|.-. The bracket 5| and the arm 56 swing as a unit when amounts are being set up by means of. the keyboard, but when work in decimals or whole numbers is being done they occupy different relative positions than 0 when work in English currency notation is being performed. On the lower side of the arm 56 is aroller stud 59 (Figs. 4 and 5) that may be adjacent"to either of'two lugs 60 and 6| on the bracket 5|. A slide 62 on the bracket 5| is mov- 6 able along the lug 6| and has a cam surface 63 7 when folios are being printed. I therefore proarranged to act on the roller stud 59. A pin 64 on the slide 62 extends through a slot 65 formed longitudinally of the bracket 5| and through a curved slot 66 in a lever 61 pivoted at one end at 68 in the machine frame. The other end of the lever 61 has a pin-and-slot connection 69 (Fig. 2) with one arm of a bell crank lever 10 pivoted at H. To the other arm of the bell crank lever 10 is pivoted the stem 12 of a whole number key 13. A contractile spring 14 connected to a pin 14 on the key stem 12 normally holds the key 13 elevated, with a stop lug 15 in contact with the keyboard plate '16, and also holds the lever 61 in the position shown in Fig. 5. When the lever 61 is in the position just referred to, the slot 66 is concentric with the axis 52 and hence does not affect the slide 62 as the bracket 5| and the arm 56 swing on said axis. When the key '13 is depressed the lever 67 is swung forwardly (see Fig. 1), carrying with it the slide 62. To insure that the lever 61 shall stay in such position a detent 16 (Fig. 2) is pivoted at H and urged against a pin 18 on the bell crank lever 10 by a contractile spring 19. Said detent has a notch 80 to receive the pin 18. In the return stroke of the handle 21 (i. e. the latter half of the cycle of operations of the machine, the detent 16 is disengaged from the bell crank 10 through contact of a pin 8| (Fig. 2) with the lower end of the detent, said pin being set in the bar 82 that restores the bracket 5| and the slide 41 to initial position (see the Sundstrand Patent No. 1,198,487). In the return or leftward movement of the bracket 5|, the lug 60 (Fig. 5), engages the roller 59 on the arm 56 and carries the latter back to initial position, as in Fig. 5.

It may be -stated that in both positions of the arm 61 the slot 66 is substantially concentric with the pivot 52.

Depression of the whole number key 13 withdraws the cam surface 63 from between the roller stud 59 on the arm 56 and the lug 6| on the bracket 5|, thereby allowing the spring 53 to swing the bracket 5| toward the right until the lug 6| stops against the roller stud 59, the arm 56 that carries said roller stud being meanwhile held against movement to the right by the escapement bar 83 (Fig. 1). Such movementof the bracket 5| causes movement of the slide 4'! toward the right, whereby the pins 46 for the pence, units-shillings and tens-shillings type bars are carried to the right of any stops 42 that might be subsequently set by means of the numeral keys. Any such stops will therefore act to position only the type bars and racks that register and record whole numbers.

The before mentioned Patent No. 1,885,489 discloses means to prevent the pence, units-shillings and tens-shillings type bars from rising above the cipher-printing position when whole numbers are being registered or printed. Such means or its equivalent is employed in connection with the present invention, 83 being the detent bail connected to the lever 10 by a link 83 Said Patent No. 1,885,489 also discloses means whereby, when an amount consisting of a whole number is set up, with the key 13 depressed, the key need not be operated for the shillings and pence orders, the ciphers for those columns being automatically printed. The present invention contemplates, as one of the uses of whole numbers, the printing of folios; but it will be seen that the printing of ciphers in the pence and shillings orders would be unnecessary and undesirable vide means whereby such undesirable printing of ciphers is eliminated. This means cooperates with the spacing-stroke-enforcing means. The latter may be identical with or substantially similar to that fully disclosed in my Patent No. 1,583,102. Using the reference numbers employed in that patent, 308 (Figs. 2 and 4) is a plate pivoted at 30| and held in either of its two positions by a detent 306. Said detent is pivoted at 336' and is held in engagement with the plate 300 by a spring 301. The plate 300 is in its forward position, as shown in Fig. 2, after a blank or spacing cycle has been performed preparatory to the taking of a total. It is swung into its rear position when a digit is set up in the keyboard, and remains in that position until after the first half of a blank or spacing cycle has been performed.

It will be noted in Fig. 2 that the detent 306 cccupies a. lower position when the plate 300 is in its rear position than when said plate is in its forward or total-taking position.

The printing hammers |80 (Fig. 7) for the pence, units-shillings and tens-shillings orders are arranged to be held out of operation by a detent 84 which is pivoted to swing up and down on two screws 85. A spring 86 tends to lower the detent 84 into position to block the rearward movement of the three hammers just referred to. Pivoted to the detent 84 is a link 81 which is guided on a stud 88. The link 8-1 has an angular arm 89 that rests on the detent 306 and overlies the pin 14 on the stem 12 of the whole number key 13.

When the whole number key 13 is depressed and the plate 300 is in its rear position, the detent 84 is in its lower position, and thus prevents the printing of three ciphers following the digits representing, say, a folio.

When the plate 300 is in its forward position, as it is after a blank cycle preparatory to the taking of a total, the detent 84 is held in its upper or ineffective position by the detent 306, thus enabling the printing of ciphers as required in the printing of the total amount accumulated in the totalizer or register. It will be seen that the printing of ciphers in total-taking is permitted even though the whole number key has been left latched down, as described in said Patent No. 1,885,489.

Means is provided whereby the functions performed by the manually-operable key 13 may also be performed by the paper carriage. The latter, which may be of any desired construction, as, for example, that disclosed in my application Serial No. 118,628, filed June 26, 1926, is indicated herein at 90 (Fig. 3). It is supported in any preferred way for movement transversely of the machine. Attached to the carriage is a bar 9| extending parallel with the direction of travel. A bracket 92 is secured to the bar 9| in a manner to permit of adjustment to any point along the bar, a clamping screw 93 serving to hold the bracket in the desired location. On the bracket 92 is mounted a cam or dog 94 in such a way as to be effective only during the leftward or working stroke of the carriage. Herein the dog 94 is shown as pivoted at 95 to the bracket 92, a contractile spring 96 normally holding the dog against a stnp pin 9'! on the bracket. The left- Ward edge of the dog 94 is beveled to engage a roller 98 carried on the upper end of a lever 99 pivoted in the machine frame at I00. The lower end of the lever 99 is pivoted to one arm of a lever |0| pivoted at 02 in the machine frame.

The other arm of the lever MI is pivoted to the rear end of a link I00, the forward end of the link being pivoted to one arm of a lever I04 pivoted at I06 in the machine frame. The other arm of the lever I04 lies just behind the lever 61. A spring I06 connected to the lever I04 normally holds the lever I04 away from the lever 61 and holds the roller 66 in the path of the dog 64. The action of the spring I06 is limited by a stop I01 located on the machine frame in position to be engaged by a pin I06 on the lever .90.

The dog 94 may be set on the carriage rod Si in a position corresponding, for example, .to a column on the work sheet in which some whole number, as, for instance, the folio, is to be printed. As the carriage reaches such columnar position and comes to rest there, the dog 94 cams back the roller 98 against the tension of the spring I06, thereby forcing the lever 61 into its forward position. Such movement of the lever 61, as before explained, allows the bracket 5i to swing to the right under the tension of the spring 53, the arm 56 being meanwhile held in the initial position by the escapement bar 63. This movement of the bracket 5| carries the slide 41 to the right far enough to place the stop pins 46 thatare associated with the pence, units-shillings and tensshiliings type bars out of position to engage any stops 42 that may be subsequently set by the push pins 50. It will be noted in Fig. 1 that the fourth stop pin 46 from the right (which pin is associated with the units pounds type bar) will move into position directly below a stop 42 in the column of stops farthest to the left after such stop 42 has been set by the corresponding push pin 50 and the arm 56 and bracket 5i have been swung one step to the right by the spring 53. Thus the operator may operate such of the numeral keys 49 representing the digits from to "9, inclusive, as are necessary to set up a whole number representing a folio, when the carriage reaches the columnar position wherein the folio is to be printed on the ledger sheet or other work-piece, without the necessity of manually depressing the whole number key I3. The setting up of the folio on the keyboard results in the movement of the plate 000 to its rear position, if it was not already there, thus lowering the hammer detent 04 into position to prevent three useless ciphers from 5 being printed at the right of the folio.

I claim as my invention:

1. A computing machine having, in combination, a series of reciprocatory type bars, a corresponding series of printing hammers, and means for automatically limiting movement of one of thetype bars and disabling the corresponding hammer.

2. A computing machine having, in combina tion, a series of reciprocatory type bars, a corresponding series of printing hammers, a laterally movable paper carriage, and means actuated by the paper carriage for limiting movement of one of the type bars and disabling the corresponding hammer.

3. A computing machine having, in combination, a series of hammers, a blank-cycle-enforcing mechanism, and means sensitive to the condition of said mechanism for disabling one of the hammers.

4. A computing machine having, in combina tion, stop-setting mechanism, a whole number key and connections for adjusting said mechanism, a series of hammers, a blank-cycle-enforcing mechanism, and means sensitive to the position of the last-mentioned mechanism and said key fordisabling one of the hammers. v

5. A computing machine having, in combination, stop-setting mechanism, a whole number key and connections for adjusting said mecha- 5 

